2019: Umpteenth

Umpteenth

When Shi Maowen found out who blackmailed the Shi family and threatened their entire existence, he would leave them with a fate worse than death.2

Although he still did not know who the mastermind was yet, he was already aiming his crosshairs at Wu Jingzhong.

Wu Jingzhong must have done it in an effort to get him out of arrest. He wanted to return to his position as the governor, so he had his trusted aide find a hacker to do this.

The Shi family never considered the minor Wu family of Sea District a threat. They assumed that Wu Jingzhong's position would soon belong to Lan Weisong. All Lan Weisong would have to do was take his seat when the time came.

If Wu Jingzhong admitted to his mistake and made amends to the Shi family, the Shi family could forgive him. Once the matter was settled, they would not let him go to jail. Once he was out, the Wu family would still be the most wealthy family in Sea District.

Why did the Wu family have to do this?

Did the Wu family think they had a right to contend with the Shi family?

Was it because of the 12th official?

Shi Maowen glanced at Li Heyi. Li Heyi caught his eye and said to the president, "President, I initially wanted to go see the Ministry of Justice after the meeting ended because the Wu family found me yesterday and told me about Wu Jingzhong's matter. They also gave me the relevant evidence. I thought that with the evidence in hand, the Ministry of Justice would be able to make a ruling immediately, so I wasn't too anxious. Who could have guessed that things would go this far? I don't think the Wu family is responsible for this. I think it was done by someone who admires Wu Jingzhong's character. The Wu family's second daughter-in-law, Zhu Tangya, is currently outside the administrative department. If the Wu family knew they were going to do this, they wouldn't have sent someone all the way here to ask me to help them with the Ministry of Justice."

Even though Li Heyi was speaking to the president, everything he was saying was also directed at Shi Maowen, telling him that the Wu family could not afford to offend the Shi family, so his suspicions were unfounded. The hacker had not been hired by the Wu family. They were the victims of this whole situation. They did not have the guts to make an enemy out of the Shi family.

This left Shi Maowen embarrassed.

A lot had happened. The Shi family was the perpetrator, and the Wu family was the victim too afraid to strike back. It was easy to imagine what the president was thinking at such a vivid image being painted. 

The president's face was dark, and he did not say a word.

Shi Maowen knew that if he did not say anything, the price the Shi family would have to pay would definitely be even greater than it was now. Therefore, he immediately stood up and gave a 90-degree bow to all the big shots present. With an angry and embarrassed expression, he sincerely apologized.

"I'm sorry!" Those two words seemed to use up all of Shi Maowen's strength as he then closed his eyes and said, "After the incident that someone anonymously reported, I gathered the heads of the Shi family and reminded them for the umpteenth time to be careful. I didn't expect them to do such a disgraceful thing. I... As the 13th official, I've let the Wu family down, let justice down, and let the country down."

"How many times does 'umpteen' mean?" the president bluntly asked.

Shi Maowen was furious, but his face did not show it at all. Like a person who had done something wrong and deeply wanted to repent, he said, "The last time I reminded them was when the people from the Ministry of Justice received the news that some members of the Shi family's outer branches used the family name to do things outside the law, I gathered all the heads of the family and their subordinates to hold a meeting."

pqdm.com